A month ago, I moved to Taipei and I want to share with you 3 culture shocks that I had since I arrived here:
Some people asked me what kind of blood type I am. At first, I thought it was really odd because it’s something we never do in Italy, then some friends explained me that asking for blood type is a way to understand how compatible you are with that person. I found it very interesting!
In Taipei there’re no bins in the streets!!
People still use cash a lot
What are the culture shocks that struck you the most?
It sounds like Taipei is like Japan too When I was in Japan, I was also shock that there’s not a single trash can in the street, and it’s still a cash-based society. There are coins usage even, that’s what made me shocked the most. The blood type thingy is apparently quite common and popular, but I personally have never been asked that question. I still don’t remember what’s my blood type is lol.
Another cultural shock that I had during my time in Japan was, as ironic as it sounds, silent movie theaters Japanese people respects peace and quiet and try their best not to bother other people, yes. But it shocked me when they didn’t even make any sound when watching blockbusters like Avenger Endgame or Spiderman
The no trash can in sight I experienced in Seoul. At that point I have not yet been to Taipei so I didn’t know it was common in multiple cities/countries!
I’ve had many culture shocks in China, especially my first semester there, but @Holly-Le what you said about silent movie theaters made me think about this one: it is the absolute opposite over there first time I went to the movies in China, people didn’t put their phone on silent mode so it would ring, and they would answer it and have a full on conversation INSIDE, not whispering either.
Thankfully it was not always like that but still it seemed like a common occurence.
Also, same thing in the train. If you ever take the train in France to go places you’ll notice how quiet and silent everything is. People take advantage of this “quiet” time to rest. In China in the “slow trains”, it is very lively, everyone chatting, playing games, eating etc which was a big culture shock, but it was a great opportunity to practice speaking!
When I was in Japan, I was also shock that there’s not a single trash can in the street, and it’s still a cash-based society. There are coins usage even, that’s what made me shocked the most. The blood type thingy is apparently quite common and popular, but I personally have never been asked that question. I still don’t remember what’s my blood type is lol.
Japanese people respects peace and quiet and try their best not to bother other people, yes. But it shocked me when they didn’t even make any sound when watching blockbusters like Avenger Endgame or Spiderman 
first time I went to the movies in China, people didn’t put their phone on silent mode so it would ring, and they would answer it and have a full on conversation INSIDE, not whispering either.